a parish of over 20,000 people, many of whom were living in sub-standard conditions, and who had to be re-housed in new estates in the suburbs. He supervised the provision of schools and churches to serve the new parishes created and viewed all his work from a spiritual angle and was considered a wise and prudent ruler. Byrne supported the religious ban on young Catholics attending Trinity College. He reaffirmed this attitude on behalf of the Catholic Church in a letter in 1928. According to Byrne, Trinity College creates a Protestant atmosphere which is perilous for young Catholics. Two major commemorative events can be seen as the highlights of his episcopacy, namely the centenary of Catholic Emancipation in 1929 and the Eucharistic Congress of 1932. The thirty-first International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin from 20–26 June 1932. Relations With The Irish State Byrne had generally cordial relations with the governments of both W. T. Cosgrave and Éamon de Valera, advising them on the issues of divorce and the constitution respectively. Unlike the other bishops - and in particular, unlike his eventual successor John Charles McQuaid who had already started corresponding with de Valera on this matter - he was prepared to agree to the omission of any specific reference to the Catholic Church in the 1937 constitution. While his pastorals from the 1920s and 1930s reveal some of the typical hierarchical concerns of the period, such as immodesty and evil literature, he was cautious in lending moral sanction to emergency legislation. He was afflicted with a wasting muscular disease through the 1930s, but remained as Archbishop until his death in 1940 when he was succeeded by John Charles McQuaid. He is buried in the vaults at the Pro-Cathedral. References Bibliography External links Archbishop Edward Joseph Byrne at Catholic Hierarchy page Edward J Byrne at UCC page, with photo Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Alumni of Clonliffe College 1872 births 1940 deaths People educated at Belvedere College